''Morning Exercises'' refers to a religious observance by

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

which started at the beginning of the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

Origins

As most of the citizens of London had either a near relation or friend in the army of the

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

, clergymen were getting overwhelmed with requests to include prayers for these soldiers in their Sunday services. So a group of them agreed to set aside an hour at 7 am, every morning, with half an hour for prayer and half an hour for a broader exhortation of the population. It was started by

Thomas Case Thomas Case (1598–30 May 1682) was an English clergyman of Presbyterian beliefs, a member of the Westminster Assembly, where he was one of the strongest advocates of Christian government. Although earlier a strong defender of the Parliamentar ...

the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister at St. Mary Magdalen, Milk Street and continued there for a month. The exercises were then taken up by other churches across the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. Shortly after

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

also started to host religious lectures between 6 - 8am, not only for local residents, but also for Members of Parliament. The preachers here included Edmund Staunton,

Philip Nye Philip Nye (c. 1595–1672) was a leading English Independent theologian and a member of the Westminster Assembly of Divines. He was the key adviser to Oliver Cromwell on matters of religion and regulation of the Church. Life Philip Nye was bo ...

, Stephen Marshall, Herbert Palmer,

Charles Herle Charles Herle (1598–1659) was a prominent English theologian, of moderate Presbyterian views. Herle graduated from Exeter College, Oxford with an M.A. in 1618. He was vicar of Winwick, Lancashire, from 1626. In a controversy with Henry Ferne, ...

Jeremiah Whitaker Jeremiah Whitaker (1599–1654) was an English Puritan clergyman, and important member of the Westminster Assembly. Life He was born at Wakefield, Yorkshire, in 1599. After being educated at the grammar school there under the Rev. Philip Jack, he ...

and Thomas Hill.

At Cripplegate

After the Civil War the Morning Exercises were continued, with many collected by

Samuel Annesley Samuel Annesley (c. 1620 – 1696) was an English Puritan and nonconformist pastor, best known for the sermons he collected as the series of '' Morning Exercises''. Life Annesley was born in Haseley, England, in 1620 and christened on 26 March. ...

being subsequently published in six volumes.

Preachers published by Annesley

The following list of 75 was published in 1844.

References

{{reflist Puritanism in England